Author: Mystic Seaport Museum

Mystic Seaport was awarded a $100,000 grant by the Beagary Charitable Trust–Pat Morgan, Trustee on January 7, 2013. The funds will be used by the Museum to develop and implement an educational outreach program for primary school students in Northeastern Connecticut.

Mystic Seaport will utilize the funds to create activities and learning tools for use in-school, at the Museum, and online. The grant will enable participation by every 5th grader in the region over a three-year period beginning in 2013, and will serve students in the following school districts: Brooklyn, Canterbury, Eastford, Killingly, Pomfret, Plainfield, Putnam, Sterling, Thompson, and Woodstock.

The funding will also be used to develop educational programs for the “Year of the Charles W. Morgan.” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and state legislators designated the 2013-14 academic year to be the “Year of the Charles W. Morgan” in the state of Connecticut to coincide with the completed restoration and 38th Voyage of the Museum’s 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan. The designation will afford students across the state a unique opportunity to learn about Connecticut maritime history, the significance of the whaling industry, and the importance of the state’s maritime heritage through the educational programming of Mystic Seaport.

“We recognize it is a challenge for school districts in this era to be able to afford to take students on field trips outside the classroom. This grant will enable us not only to physically bring every 5th grader in Northeastern Connecticut to Mystic Seaport, but also to help us develop in-school and online learning tools to serve students across the state and elsewhere,” said Mystic Seaport President Steve White. “We hope grants of this kind can be a model for other organizations who hope to support school access to the rich educational assets institutions such as Mystic Seaport offer.”

A previous grant from Mohegan Sun enabled school children from the greater Montville, Conn. area to participate in Mystic Seaport programming.

The Beagary Charitable Trust is a longtime supporter of Mystic Seaport. In 2008, the trust gave $150,000 for the restoration of the Morgan.

About the Beagary Charitable Trust

The Beagary Charitable Trust–Pat Morgan, Trustee provides financial aid to educational institutions, museums, research institutions, and other organizations formed to preserve and teach United States and world history. The trust also supports organizations with programs that allow children and adults to enjoy intellectual, social, physical, and cultural interactions with their peers and teach sportsmanship and leadership skills.

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmarks including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, the oldest American commercial vessel still afloat. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Museum Open to the Public for Free after 1 p.m. Oct. 31

Mystic Seaport will resume normal operation and be open to visitors on Thursday, November 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition, the Museum will open its grounds and exhibits to visitors for free from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, October 31.

Recovery from Hurricane Sandy is nearly complete and the Museum’s exhibits, historic vessels, and village will be open and available for visitors. Food service, the Mystic Seaport Stores, the Bake Shop, and the Maritime Art Gallery are dependent on the local power status and may not be open.

Tonight’s Halloween Trick or Treat activity is cancelled. However, the 7 p.m. presentation by champion sailor Ken Read will go on as scheduled. The talk has been moved to the Greenmanville Meeting House on the Museum grounds. Visitors are directed to use the north entrance next to Latitude 41° Restaurant & Tavern to get to the event.

People should monitor the Museum’s website, Facebook and Twitter feeds for updates on hours and scheduled programs.

Website:              https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/
Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/mysticseaport
Twitter:                @mysticseaport 

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, it is the home of four national Historic Landmark vessels, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, the oldest American merchant vessel in existence. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Historic Whaleship Charles W. Morgan Safe and Sound

Mystic Seaport emerged from Hurricane Sandy with no damage to its collections and negligible damage to its buildings and grounds.

The Museum’s historic watercraft sustained no damage. Many were hauled out of the water in advance of the storm. Those that were left in were carefully secured and rode out the high winds and storm surge with no difficulty.

The 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, currently out of the water in the Museum’s shipyard for a multi-year restoration, received no damage from Sandy.

The storm surge on the Mystic River briefly rose above the waterfront’s bulkhead and flooded the village green and some of the adjacent roads, but it did not reach into the historic buildings. There were some wet foundations and basements that will need drying out and the grounds will need to be cleared of debris.

The Museum’s Collections Research Center was untouched. The Center houses the institution’s more than two million historic artifacts and documents.

“We are very pleased with the way the Museum emerged from Hurricane Sandy,” said Mystic Seaport President Steve White. “Once again our staff executed our emergency plan flawlessly, and as a result we essentially suffered no damage from the storm.”

The Museum is currently closed, but anticipates reopening for public visitors as early as noon as Wednesday once the grounds are cleaned up and reconfigured for visitation. People should monitor the Museum’s website, Facebook and Twitter feed for updates on opening hours and scheduled programs.

Website:              https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/
Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/mysticseaport
Twitter:                @mysticseaport

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, it is the home of four national Historic Landmark vessels, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, the oldest American merchant vessel in existence. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Mystic Seaport is pleased to name Tom Brillat the Museum’s new Director of Interpretation.

Brillat has been an Interpreter at the Museum for the past three years. In his new role, he will oversee the day-to-day management and strategic planning of the Interpretation Department, which is responsible for the programs and activities that interpret America’s maritime history across the Museum, including the 19^th-century village and the formal exhibit galleries.

“Tom is distinguished by his first-hand experience working with the public and in the contemporary maritime world, as well as his commitment to historical accuracy, creative presentation style and engaging programs,” said Mystic Seaport President Steve White. “We are impressed by the way he can make history come alive for our visitors.”

Prior to joining Mystic Seaport, Brillat has served as Executive Director of the Tall Ship Bounty Foundation, President of Educational Exchange in Wakefield, RI, and Executive Director of the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling.

Brillat graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in history and earned an M.A. in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. He also holds a teacher certification from Providence College and a Non-Profit Management Certificate from Columbia University.

Brillat lives in Richmond, Rhode Island with his wife Susan.

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, the country’s oldest commercial vessel still afloat. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.

Inspirational speaker Sarah Everhart Skeels will kick off the 2012-2013 Adventure Series with her presentation “Pushing the Boundaries to Engage Life” at Mystic Seaport Thursday, October 18.

Skeels sustained a spinal cord injury after being hit by a car while riding her bicycle. She has been paralyzed from the chest down and living life from a wheelchair for 22 years.

However, determined not to let her misfortune impair her enjoyment of life, she concluded life doesn’t end after disability; it just continues in a different way. Since the accident she has hand-cycled across the United States, swum across the span of the Newport Bay Bridge, voyaged off Guadeloupe, and has gone scuba diving in Bonaire. She is a volunteer adaptive-skiing instructor and is an avid sailor. Skeels will discuss her adaptation to her disability, living life on her terms, and how pushing boundaries helps to determine character.

Presentations will be given at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. in the River Room at Latitude 41° Restaurant.

The Mystic Seaport Adventure Series runs once a month from October 2012 through April 2013. Individual tickets are $14 ($12 for members) for the afternoon presentation and $15 ($13 for members) for the evening presentation. Tickets are available online at https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ or by calling 860.572.5322.

The series will continue Thursday, November 15, with Laurel Schultheis recounting her pilgrimage in Spain along the Basque region’s El Camino De Santiago (The Way of St. James).

For more information, visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/. 

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, the country’s oldest commercial vessel still afloat. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/.